Författare: John McDermott

Use a PMI Analysis to Encourage Critical Thinking

A participant in a critical thinking class I taught recently suggested a solution to a problem I’d posed to the group. “Let’s do a PMI analysis,” I suggested, expecting the class to be familiar with the tool. None were. The tool can be a very productive way to frame a discussion. What is a PMI […]

Don’t be Afraid to be Creative

Being “creative” is an essential skill in most business environments. When I was an undergraduate engineering student, I learned about how to be creative. I didn’t learn it from classes, though; I learned it through the books by Edward de Bono. I will always be grateful to my friend Richard for introducing me to de […]

Tools for Reducing Software Vulnerabilities

NIST, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, released a report last December, “Dramatically Reducing Software Vulnerabilities.” It has multiple useful and interesting ideas for improving vulnerabilities in software. I want to highlight two that I felt were most important. 1. Education There is no technological substitute for developer discipline. Education is not just […]

Could a Hand-held EMP Device Threaten Cyber Security?

The ability to disable computers, cars, or other machinery from a distance without being easily detected has fascinated me for a long time. Years ago I worked for defense cub-contractor founded by engineers who had worked on the Airborne LASER Laboratory (ALL). They successfully used a LASER on board an airplane to shoot down drones. […]

Using SSH for IoT Authentication

In a previous post, I wrote about attackers using default passwords in FTP and Telnet to compromise devices (especially IoT ones such as cameras). The compromised devices were then used to attack other devices on the Internet. I suggested users change passwords on the devices where possible but acknowledged that some were not changeable. I […]